There is a cable car in London built for the Olympics which has been partly financed by the UAE. It is hardly used now, it's a sort of tourist thing really. It is called the Emirate Airline, not to be confused with the Emirate Airlines, the plane company with the stewardesses with very funny hats.

The Emirates had some very odd conditions for financing this project. First, the Mayor of London and his successors and Transport for London must agree in perpetuity NEVER to criticise the UAE royal family or government, no matter what they do.

Second, no advertising space on the system may be rented by Jews, and no supporter of Israel may ever own a share in this cable car.

Third, Jewish people who can be recognised as such by their clothing may not use the cable car.

This last condition has since been rescinded.

Which idiot in their right mind would enter into a business deal with people like that?

Boris Johnson actually agreed these terms and I think that makes him totally unfit for public office.

Well, to find out if it was, someone would need to challenge it, and only the parties to the contract can do that. As our mayor would immediately be called a racist and islamophobe if he as much as suggested that something is not quite right here, and he wants to carry on being a politician he is unlikely to do that. He agreed to the terms in the first place, so how can he now go back on that?

What would be interesting if a Jewish business were to sue the mayor for discrimination because he may not rent poster space there.

Legal question: if it's a case of discrimination, would someone have to be Jewish to contest it? ISTR that all the racial discrimination laws leave it to anyone and everyone to claim discrimination - the mere perception is enough.

"If a woman passes one kilometer from someone who is praying, is the prayer canceled then? What is the maximum distance from which a prayer is cancelled altogether?" Majid Oukacha

My original post wasn't clear. I was specifically referring to the bit about not letting those identified as Jewish use the cable car or Jewish businesses advertise on it.

Reading a bit further about it the original contract seemed to be heavily loaded against Israel from a commercial point of view, saying that they could not make deals with countries with which the UAE has no diplomatic relations, which is basically only Israel. There's nothing to stop British (or French, American etc) businesses advertising on the cable car, though you would hope they wouldn't on principle!, and nothing to stop a Jewish tourist riding on the cable car.

The stuff about criticising the UAE Royals is not all that surprising and most sponsorship deals include some sort of provision against that. The idea that this can be applied to elected officials indefinitely is absurd.

I think Hombre hit the nail on the head. If Boris had agreed to a contract - any contract - denying access to Muslims, his career would be over. Not even UKIP would touch him with a barge-pole. His only career prospect would be as an advisor to Donald Trump.

"If a woman passes one kilometer from someone who is praying, is the prayer canceled then? What is the maximum distance from which a prayer is cancelled altogether?" Majid Oukacha